


Red Wedding Bells

by ani_babe93



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: I'm a sick sadistic little fuck, I'm terribly sorry for this, M/M, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-12
Updated: 2015-03-12
Packaged: 2018-03-17 12:11:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3528950
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ani_babe93/pseuds/ani_babe93
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Death is a terrible, terrible thing when you're truly alone, even when you're in the company of others.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red Wedding Bells

**Author's Note:**

> My gf wrote this. She got into a mood and this was the outcome.  
> Edit: I finally fixed the formatting for this fic, and I'm so sorry. I forwarded it to my girlfriend (who owns this account) to post and she didn't quite format it right. It's a LOT easier to read and follow now.

Rufus smiled softly and smoothed his suit out. Today was the day. Finally, after almost six years, today was the day. He and Reno were finally getting married. Today was going to be the happiest day of his life. He could picture that redheaded asshole now, probably smoking a cigarette calmly in his "dressing room" and chatting up Rude, who was likely shaking his head and wondering in his head what the hell their boss was thinking, marrying HIM. Reno was snarky, sadistic, cruel, almost everything that Rufus didn't need. But he was also kind, loving, understanding...in short, everything he did need.

Reno was his life now. There was no turning back. Tears pricked in his eyes and he hated it. He didn't know why he was crying.

"Rufus, stop it, you're going to ruin your makeup." Elena reached up and calmly wiped away a trailing tear. "You don't wanna do that on your wedding day, do you?"

"I don't know why I'm crying," he admitted. He gently wiped his other eye and sniffled. "I'm getting married today, so why...?"

"Because you're getting married, stupid. You and Reno are finally tying the knot, you know? Shit, that means Reno is about to become a ShinRa. That's a terrifying thought, now, isn't it?" she said absently. "Wait...does that mean he'd technically outrank Tseng?"

"No," Rufus commented, turning back to the mirror and straightening his tie. "That means Reno will be assigned specifically to guard duty for me and nothing else. That way he can always be near me and..." The tears began again. "Dammit, why am I crying...?"

"I think it's almost time," Elena commented while absently glancing down to check her watch. "Come on. Let's go."

He took a few more seconds to try and clear his face away before following her out and to the altar. She patted his shoulder and took her place beside Tseng, who stood as Rufus's best man. Finally the organ started up and Rufus turned to the double doors where his soon-to-be husband would be coming from. Reno looked the best he'd looked in years. His hair was brushed and shiny, as well as straight and visibly soft. His black suit had been dry cleaned, pressed, lint rolled, and hidden away far from anything that would ruin it. His shoes were shined to perfection. A small bit of eyeliner peeked out at the corners of his eyes, giving them wings. The beautiful blue of his eyes glimmered brightly in the soft lighting. Rufus was stunned.

"Amazing..." he whispered lowly to himself.

He felt a slight flush come up on his cheeks. Tifa winked at him from beside Reno. How he'd talked her into walking him down the aisle was beyond the blond. The busty fighter dropped him off in front of Rufus and stood to Cloud's left, who was Reno's best man. The blond cradled Reno's hand and gently tugged the taller in front of him. For almost the entirety of the ceremony all Rufus could focus on was the look of pure happiness in Reno's eyes.

He was cracking a smile almost the entire time. "...take Reno to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

The pair had decided on short, sweet, and simple vows. In other words, they'd just said screw all the extra shit. "Of course."

"And do you, Reno, take Rufus to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"Fuck yeah." Without thinking Rufus shot his foot up into Rufus's shin. "Ouch! Uh, I mean yes. I do."

"Then I now pronounce you husband and husband. Now kiss the groom." Twin smiles stretched their faces wide and they leaned forward, their lips just barely touching-

Rufus woke up and a cold sweat, tears rolling down his cheeks. So that had been why he was crying. Why couldn't his body let him dream peacefully? Why did it have to ruin everything for him by bringing back the painful past? He shook his head and slowly crawled out of his bed, hobbling down the hall and to his fully-stocked liquor cabinet. He grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the shelves, cracked the top off of it, and took a swig that would have made Reno proud. He took three more such swigs and plopped down in one of his chairs. His nails began digging deep into his palms. The pain was still unbearable, even after six years. Why had he let him do it...why...?

"Hey, Reno. How much longer until you make it home?" Rufus asked. He looked down at his paperwork and readjusted his headset.

"Iunno, maybe three hours? Four, if shit hits the fan too hard. Which I hope it won't," he returned with a smile in his voice. "After all, I've got a wonderful surprise waiting for you, Mr. ShinRa. Two weeks is far too long to be away from my snow fox."

"Hmph. And you think that's not too long to be away from my red fox?" Rufus returned.

"Rufus, I love you." The blond smiled and continued with his work.

"I love you too, Reno. And I have a present for you too," he answered.

"I love you a lot," Reno continued. Rufus didn't notice, but it was slightly quieter than his last statement.

"I love you a lot too, Reno. You're being oddly affectionate, and you're not even back yet. You must have something really special planned for me, don't you?"

"..."

"Reno?"

"I'm sorry." The call cut out on him. His face went pale. "TSENG!" Rufus had never moved so fast in his life. Tseng and Rude both were tracking Reno's last known coordinates before they'd even left. The entire time Rufus felt numb, his eyes staring blankly at nothing in particular. Tseng had to almost force him into the back of the chopper when they finally found where he was. It felt so long before they finally landed that Rufus thought it had been an eternity.

The chopper was completely intact, with no visible damage anywhere. The blades were unbent and the metal was still pristine. So what had caused Reno to suddenly disappear like that?

"Rude, get the president away." Without thinking the blond turned to him.

"Why? What's wrong? Is Reno alright?" he asked quickly. Rude began pushing him back away from the Wutaian.

"Tell me Reno's alright!" While Rude was a burly man Rufus was slightly stronger and had no trouble pushing the Turk off of him and scrambling over to where Tseng stood. "Reno!" What he saw made his blood freeze. Blood stained the entirety of Reno's white shirt and most of his suit. A shoddy tourniquet had been tied above a nasty bullet wound on his arm, and another had been tied around his chest. His eyes were still swollen shut and black. Barely, just barely, he was breathing. "RENO!"

"You weren't...supposed to find me...so soon..." he breathed weakly. Reno slowly cracked an eye open, wincing visibly at the pain of it. "Probably...shouldn't have said anything..."

"You dumbass..." Rufus squeaked. He started to climb into the chopper with the redhead.

"Sir, your suit-"

"I don't give a shit about my suit, Tseng," Rufus snapped back. "All I care about is my Turk." There was so much blood the smell was overwhelming, almost sickening even. How was Reno not gagging at this? Right...he was so close to death most of his senses had probably already begun to cut off. He didn't think about that as he gently moved crimson strands out of a blood-covered face. "You look like shit, love," he whispered with a sick laugh. He almost vomited.

"I feel...like shit..." the elder answered.

"What happened...?"

"Got jumped...People still pissed...about the plate..." Reno wheezed. Every second the bright blue tint of mako in his eyes grew a little dimmer. The color in his face was draining just as fast. "So damn many of 'em...couldn't see anything..." He tried to sit up.

"No, you don't." Rufus pushed him back down and smiled weakly. "Just relax, okay? You're gonna be fine."

"Rufus, don't...don't fuck with yourself, babe. I'm as good as...dead and we both know it." His eyes were beginning to flutter slightly.

"No you're not, Reno, you're gonna be fine," the blond breathed. He couldn't lose Reno, not now. "We'll get you back to HQ and we'll-"

"Rufus." Reno forced himself to sit up and ignore the pain to look Rufus dead in his eyes. "I'm not...gonna make it..." He laid his head in his lover's shoulder. "Hold me..."

"What...?"

"Hold me, please. I...I always told myself...that if I died...before you did...that you'd hold me until I died..." Rufus felt the dam burst. The tears were painful to hold back so he didn't.

"Reno, don't talk like that! You're gonna be fine! I promise you, you're gonna be fine!" he sobbed. "Come on, don't give up yet!"

"I'm...sorry, Rufus...I guess...I can't...marry you..." A shaky arm came up to wrap around Rufus's neck and squeeze. "I probably...would have gotten...cold feet...anyway...not...real big...on commitment, ya know?" Reno continued.

"Reno, please stop..."

"Besides...I think Tseng...has a thing for you..." the redhead added. "He'd make a...better husband than an...alcoholic slum rat..."

"Reno..." The sobs grew worse now. Rufus felt everything in his body begin to ache. The worst pain came from his breaking heart. "I love you..."

"Love...you too...ass...hole..." His arm began to loosen from around Rufus's shoulder.

"Reno, no...don't go..." Rufus squeezed the frail body in his arms. "Don't go, not yet..."

"Hey, Tseng..." Rufus glanced over at the Wutaian with a pained look. "Take care...of Rufus...yeah...?"

"I promise, Reno." A slight, crooked grin crossed the redhead's lips.

"Thanks...man..." His eyes finally began to drift closed.

"RENO, GODSDAMMIT, NO!"

Rufus slammed the bottle to the floor. It shattered and sent glass skidding in every direction. The small shards were nearly invisible in the poor lighting.

"You were thinking about him again, weren't you?" a voice called softly. Rufus glanced up and sighed.

"I had a dream about our wedding again..." he admitted softly. He began slowly spinning the silver ring on his finger around.

"I have a feeling you're not referring to ours." Tseng eased over to the corner of the kitchen and grabbed the broom they kept there.

"No...I'm not..." The blond leaned back in his seat and sighed. "I could have saved him..."

"No, you couldn't have. Had we arrived but minutes later he would have already died. You did what you could and eased his pain as he passed." He began calmly and carefully sweeping the remnants of the whiskey bottle into a corner away from the door.

"I could have done something, godsdammit...he didn't have to die..."

"Rufus." Tseng set the broom back up in the corner and made his way over to his husband. "Please believe me when I tell you that there was nothing more you could do for him."

"But...I had him in my arms..." The Wutaian began smoothing down Rufus's frayed hair.

"I held him as he died...I could have done something...!" Tseng pulled Rufus into his chest and held him as he cried. After the young president began hiccuping he was led back to his room and tucked back into bed to fall into a weak and fitful sleep.

The elder crawled in beside him and snuggled softly against his back.

"I love you Reno..." Rufus whispered quietly. He was already long asleep and completely unaware of what he said. Tseng sighed and merely pressed his nose against the nape of Rufus's neck. His eyes looked past the thin blond strands to the old, ragged calender still pinned to the wall and dated seven years prior. A certain date was circled in bright red ink and labeled, "Wedding Date."

The date was on July 12th. Reno had passed the day before, on July 11th.


End file.
